'The Rise of the Epic Legend of the Hero's Journey.' Not enough buzzwords in that teaser.

Demon Under Glass

You are 100% correct. The look of Stallone's Dredd was faithful to the comic, from the Judges to Mean Machine to the ABC Warrior. The Urban Dredd almost seems embarrassed by the comic visuals, so they're trying to tone it down and make it appear more 'real world.' Like the horrible Phantom costume in the SyFy…

I don't mean to diss Harry Potter or Dresden Files, but I have an issue with how magic is portrayed in recent films, especially urban fantasy. Magic is portrayed as a quasi-science without much mystery or unpredictability. Or true weirdness. It's either rote memorization like in HP or a precise set of instructions…

Ah yes, the magic 'zoom and enhance' that in the Blade Runner universe allows you to see around objects in defiance of laws of physics and logic. That reminds that Blade Runner's reputation is largely founded on the aesthetics of its set design, cityscapes, and costumes, not on its treatment of tech, social change,…

Right, that's what I mean; my parents didn't allow those things.

I was born in 1970. When I was growing up there was no white bread, candy, Tang, marshmallow fluff, sugary cereals, nor salty snacks in the house, but there were lots of whole grain items. Which meant gritty, heavy pancakes, crunchy peanut butter, and pulpy orange juice. No candy unless it was Halloween, and then…

Yeah, I've read the case for The Invisibles being the inspiration/model for The Matrix, and I just don't see it. Grant Morrison didn't invent the Hero's Journey, freedom fighters vs The Man, and 'society is a conspiracy' tropes. The Matrix is a brilliant, lightning-in-a-bottle synthesis of sci-fi themes and…

Completely generic 'bwong ... bwong' beat horror/thriller/action trailer.

I don't care if it's in the original; please, Hollywood, stop with the 'destined chosen one' blather.

True, the organic webshooters were much more Cronenbergesque.

Interesting article, but I would argue that it's missing much more important/influential precursors:

On the Spider-Man costume: Peter Parker should just change the name of his superhero alter ego to Texture-Man.

Tilda Swinton is the queen of arthouse scifi/fantasy, thanks to Orlando, Teknolust, and Conceiving Ada. And she's in the running for queen of mainstream with Constantine and Narnia.

The Craft: Sarah vs. Nancy

It is a cool flick, with Maila Nurmi (TV's Vampira), Basil Rathbone, and one of the astronauts from 2001. In no way did it deserve the MST3K treatment (but I'm not indignant about it - any movie can be razzed for yucks). Instead of stop motion the special effects tend to be optical, changing the scale of characters.

Love that Cranius and Ophidian. I wish the Un-Men had their own line in larger scale.

Adam Sandler is the Val Lewton of our times, the maestro behind modern masterworks of horror, from the ravages of aging and regret (Grown Ups) to the humiliation of prostitution (Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo). Who needs David Lynch's ham-handed attempts to craft an unsettling aesthetic when we have "uncanny-valley…

I liked the Spanish Dracula too, especially the full-blast manic Renfield and the more savage Brides. But it had the same problem as Browning's: they seemingly spend about a third of the movie in Mina's father's living room! I know that the script (that served both movies) is based on a play, but come on.